Africa REN, a pioneer in the development of renewable energy projects in West Africa, has reached a major milestone with the completion of the financing for the innovative Walo storage project in Senegal.
The Dutch development bank FMO and the Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF), working through Ninety One, fund manager of EAIF, have each invested up to €32 million (almost $35 million) in the project, which was entirely built by Africa REN.
A loan of €11 million from FMO and a further loan of €8 million from the Access to Energy Fund will be used to help developing nations gain access to reliable energy.
A company affiliated with the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG), EAIF, will contribute an 11 million euro loan, and PIDG Technical Assistance will provide viability gap funding (VGF) in the amount of $1.5 million, or 1.5 million euros.
Since launching in 2015, Africa REN has been at the forefront of establishing West Africa as a regional leader in sustainable energy infrastructure.
The CEO of Africa REN, Gilles Parmentier, expressed his gratitude in affirming the organization’s pioneering position in the Sub-Saharan African sustainable energy revolution. He said, “We are proud to reaffirm our leading position in the sustainable energy revolution unfolding in Sub-Saharan Africa. This landmark funding from FMO and EAIF for the Walo Storage project reaffirms our commitment to the region.”
Africa REN has established a goal to create 250 MW of sustainable energy assets by 2026 and has gotten commitments from Metier and FMO for equity investments totaling about €50 million.
The project will follow the International Finance Corporation (IFC) Performance Standards, assuring efficient resource use, pollution prevention, and other aspects of risk management for the environment and society.
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